Wayne County man faces charges of illegally burning waste

Agents from the Attorney General's Environmental Crimes Section on Friday filed criminal charges against a Wayne County man accused of illegally burning and burying waste in Honesdale.

Agents from the Attorney General's Environmental Crimes Section on Friday filed criminal charges against a Wayne County man accused of illegally burning and burying waste in Honesdale.

Attorney General Linda Kelly identified the defendant as Joseph Bunnell, 50, the owner of Bunnell Waste Removal Inc., of Honesdale.

According to the criminal complaint, from January 2009 through February 2012, Bunnell allegedly obtained thousands of dollars from customers by misrepresenting that their waste was properly disposed of at a landfill. Bunnell did not obtain a permit from the Department of Environmental Resources, the complaint said.

Kelly said that Bunnell allegedly provided customers with bogus landfill weigh tickets that falsely indicated their buried and burned buried waste was legally disposed of at the landfill. He collected more than $2,000, the complaint said.

The charges state that instead of properly disposing of the waste, Bunnell buried and burned it at his property in Honesdale or at a property in Buckingham Township.

A former employee told officials that the waste was transported to the properties early in the morning and burned primarily on foggy/rainy days.

Another ex-employee said four to six loads were dumped at one time on the Honesdale property. Wood, cardboard and tires were separated out to be burned. The resulting ash was buried. Local fire departments periodically responded to trash fires on the property, according to the complaint.

Don Hiller of the Seeleyville Fire Company said BWR had been burning waste for five to seven years. He recalled responding to a pile of burning debris that was 60 feet by 60 feet with flames 30 to 40 feet in the air, according to the complaint.

Bunnell is charged with two counts of illegal transportation, one count of illegal dumping, one count of illegal burning, one count of illegal storage, one count of deceptive or fraudulent business practices, one count of theft by deception, and one count of corrupt organizations.

Bunnell was preliminarily arraigned before Honesdale Magisterial District Judge Theodore Mikulak and released on $2,500 unsecured bail.